ABSTRACT
The issue of why athletes appear to be more extraverted and less neurotic than non-athletes raises direction of causality issues. It could be that playing sport builds character. Not much research has been conducted but it tends to suggest, if anything, that young athletes become less altruistic as they play more competitive sport. On the other hand, it could be that the type of person we are determines whether we gravitate toward or away from sporting situations. This is known as the gravitational hypothesis. While the gravitational hypothesis makes intuitive sense, there is actually little evidence on the issue.
